Tag Archives: Tears in the Fence Flash Fiction Competition

The Tears in the Fence Flash Fiction Competition is now open with a First Prize of £200, Second Prize of £150 and Third Prize of £100. The winners and other highly commended entries will be published in issue 66. The competition will close on 27th May 2017. Winning entrants will be announced on the Tears in the Fence website https://tearsinthefence.com/flashfiction site on 24th June 2017.

SUBMISSIONS

Submissions may be done on http://tearsinthefence.com or by post to Tears in the Fence Flash Fiction Competition, Portman Lodge, Durweston, Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 0QA, England.

RULES AND GUIDELINES

All entries must be unpublished and 400 words or less and the original work of the author.

There is no set Theme.

There is no limit to the number of entries that one person may submit.

Entries may not be submitted elsewhere for the duration of the competition.

This competition is open to anyone over the age of 16 years.

The editors of Tears in the Fence will judge this competition.

The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

All entries will be judged anonymously and considered for publication.

Please do not put your name, address, email or any identifying marks on the Word or rtf document in which you enclose your flash fiction.

No entry form is required.

Please enter by email to tearsinthefence@gmail.com through the Submissions page on the magazine’s website or post to Tears in the Fence with a separate covering letter and appropriate fee.

Fees

Entries must be accompanied by submission fees of £5 for a single submission, £7.50 for two and £10 for three. More than three flash fictions should be made on another entry.

Entries are only included in the competition when payment is received by PayPal, follow the instructions on the DONATE button on the magazine’s website, or by cheque, made out to Tears in the Fence.

Tears in the Fence is delighted to announce that the winners of its first Flash Fiction Competition are as follows:

First Prize: Many a Pearl is Still Hidden in the Oyster by Ingrid Jendrzejewski
Second Prize: To Thee Do We Send Up Our Sighs by Niamh MacCabe
Third Prize: Coeval by Jackie Sullivan
Highly Commended: Found in the Street by James Bell.

Congratulations to the winners. Their flash fiction will appear in Tears in the Fence 65, due out in February.

The Tears in the Fence Flash Fiction Competition was judged anonymously by three judges. The judges were looking for inventive use of the form and to be drawn into and surprised by a fictional world. There were many striking and moving entries with some unusual plots and arcs. Many entries combined strong characterisation with unpredictable plots. Each judge produced a long list and then a short list. A great many entries made the long lists indicating that the general standard of entries was fairly even. From the combined shortlists a final shortlist emerged, which each judge reread and produced a top five. From the top fives and an agreed top four emerged.

The final shortlist was suitably diverse with many unpredictable stories and comprised of the following entries:

Strange Creatures by Keith Walton, Those Little Details by Ren Watson, Too Close for Comfort by Emma Norry, A Fine Goodbye by Ren Watson, Ten Ways to Prepare for Your Brothers’ Visit by Judith Higgins, Molly and the Toe Rag by Catherine Edmunds, Found In The Street by James Bell, Campanula Capratica by Phil Knight, To Thee Do We Send Up Our Sighs by Niamh MacCabe, Then It Was Autumn Again by Sherri Turner, Many a pearl is still hidden in the oyster by Ingrid Jenrzejewski, Spy Film by Alan Beard, Ladybird by Alan Beard, Snowdrop by Jacqueline Haskell, Jack’s Hat by Robert Vas Dias, and Coeval by Jackie Sullivan.

Congratulations to all those whose work was recognised by the judges.

We will be holding a second Flash Fiction Competition between issues 65 and 66.